So after seeing these guards online I thought, and only IMO they will add some stiffening at the landing legs and as such any vibration that is being dissipated via the legs would now be absorbed at the Phantom.

Very good point 'alok' - I was contemplating one of those gimbal guards, then one day I grabbed the Phantom by the legs on landing to avoid a messy area and noticed vibration at the legs but not anywhere else. Just a caveat, they can appear in video/photos in some situations. I also recently added these landing rail extensions ( : Carbon Fiber Camera Guard for Phantom 3: Camera & Photo ) which make the landing platform wider and more stable and raise it up just a little more to get it out of grass. I've never had it make the bird tip over in grass. I haven't found the gimbal guard to be a problem in normal landings. You'll probably never really know until you try one and see how it works for you and the way you fly. I also recently added these landing rail extensions ( ) which make the landing platform wider and more stable and raise it up just a little more to get it out of grass. Yeah, it looks a little goofy carrying it out to the middle of a park, but it's better than landing on the grass. I generally try to find or clear myself a decent landing surface when I fly, or use a landing pad like this: : 20' Quadcopter Helipad: Toys & Games. on an uneven landing surface, and for that it works well. I'm just using it to guard against reasonable contact with grass, twigs, small rocks, etc. I'm really not counting on the gimbal guard in a more extreme crash scenario.

Installing phantom 2 camera guard